In a Perfect World
by LovingMusicLivingLoud
Summary: In a seemingly perfect world, Troy and Gabriella are absorbed in eachother, blissfully unaware of trouble brewing beneath the surface. As dangerous schemes fly around in whispers, and rumors spread like wildfire, East High is about to go up in flames.
1. Perfection

**Disclaimer: I do not own HSM, and I am in no way affiliated with Disney or it's characters. **

**Okay, here it is! So I really like the story, I thought of it a weeks ago. But I'm not sure how I feel about this first chapter. If it doesn't live up to your expectations, the next chapter will be better! Tell me what you think; **_**I WANT ATLEAST 5 REVIEWS BEFORE I POST THE NEXT CHAPTER.**_** (I know, I'm mean. ****)**

Troy Bolton stepped into the halls of East High.

At precisely that moment, all the females in the hall looked up from their lockers, sighing dreamily and mentally swooning.

The boy was _hot._

Troy walked to his locker, oblivious to the longing looks cast by all the girls in the hall. Opening his tall, flaming red locker, he greeted his friend Chad. "Hey dude," he murmured, stuffing his backpack into the much too narrow locker, and retreiving his books. Chad didn't answer. "Dude?" Troy asked, uncertainly. Chad finally pulled his head of his locker, a flustered expression on his face.

"Girls are fucking stupid!" he cried. Troy chuckled, shaking his head. Troy and Chad were unaware that all of the girls were watching them, and the boys were glaring jealously because most of the girls watching Troy dreamily were their girlfriends. _They'd_ never had that effect on them.

And suddenly, the tables turned. All male heads swiveled around, grins painted on their faces, while their girlfriends scowled in jealousy.

Gabriella Montez had entered the building.

As if in a slow motion movie, she strode through the doors of East High with confidence. The girls pretended they didn't notice the bulges in their boyfriends pants. But oh, how they noticed.

Troy looked up, and oxygen was ripped violently from his lungs. His angel was here. Chad looked up,"Gabriella's here," he guessed, as he registered Troy's mesmerized expression. Troy simply nodded, unable to form words. Gabriella headed to her locker, while the boys gazed at her hungrily. They wouldn't dare put a move on her – they couldn't; she was strictly Troy's property. Troy would kick their asses if they layed a finger on her gorgeous body. Troy was, for the most part, a friend of theirs. They weren't super close, they didn't talk about much deep stuff, but they hung out. They were all in the same social group, and that automatically made them friends. Troy was a good guy. He didn't act like a celebrity, even though he was. He didn't hang out with the 'lower class' but he didn't give them a hard time, either. And although these were likeable qualities, they kind of backfired. Being such a good person made Troy, well, a hero. And that put all of the other guys in his shadow. But they didn't hate him because of _that_.

They watched as Troy walked over to her locker, the goddesses realm. They bit their lips as he wrapped his arms around her from behind, murmuring something sweet in her ear. Gritted their teeth as she turned around in his strong arms, grinning, to wrap her arms around his neck and gently pecked his lips. Gabriella Montez was every boy's reason to hate Troy Bolton.

Not satisfied with this small peck, Troy brought his hand up to the back of her neck, to capture her lips once more in a passionate kiss that curled his toes. Smiling into the kiss, she kept one arm around his neck, and ran the other hand through his chesnut hair. A good minute later, they pulled away slightly breathless. Troy kept his arms around her, unwilling to let her go. It was the best feeling; having his world in his arms. "So," he started, resting his forehead against hers, a satisfied smile planted on his face. "Chad's having girl issues." Her chocolate eyes twinkled, making his heart skip a beat. "Again?" she giggled sweetly. Grinning, he pecked her lips once more, unable to resist. "Girls are fucking stupid!" Chad exlaimed again, as he approached the couple. "Not mine," Troy stated, resting his chin on the top of her head. Watching from afar (well, down the hall), the scene was like a movie. The happy friends, the flawless couple, with perfect lives. But in a movie, the plot would close in on the character lives, revealing imperfections.

But the lives of Troy and Gabriella _were_ perfect.

First, They had loving parents. And understanding parents – that was a biggie. Their parents were aware of the fact that Troy and Gabriella had a sex life. And they actually _allowed_ their children to (sometimes) stay the night at the others house. And at the same time, they were responsible parents, teaching their children important lessons and values.

Second, they were both immesely popular. Even before they had joined forces, they were worshipped by the school's population. She was everything every girl wanted to be: sweet, funny, confident, and stunningly gorgeous. And he was everything every guy wanted to be: funny, confident, daring, and _hot._ The two had celebrity status throughout all of East High, and even beyond the school boundaries.

Third, they were _equal_. Make no mistake; he was not stronger, she was not smarter. He played basketball like it was his life, and he was as worshipped on the court as he was in the school. She was on the school swim team and ran cross country, giving her long and smooth legs that were eyed by all males. And she wasn't bad at basketball, in fact, she and Troy played some intense games. He could hit harder, but she could run faster. And although she was an incredibly smart girl, enrolled in all of the AP courses and scoring high on all of her exams, Troy was far from stupid. He too, was enrolled in some AP classes and always brought home a good grade.

And fourth, they were in love. Completely, undeniably, irrevocably in love. His heart melted everytime he caught sight of her gorgeous chocolate eyes. Her heart rate picked up speed everytime he was close to her. He lost his breath everytime she walked into the room, stunning and beautiful as always. Her knees lost some of their strength everytime he touched her. That was simply the way it was.

Perfect.  
Or was it?


	2. Anything

"Dude!" Matt Sates called down the hall. Troy Bolton turned around, "Hey." Matt came to a halt, breathless. "So I heard the list is up," he said, referring to the list stating who made East High's famous basketball team. Matt noticed that Gabriella wasn't there. This relieved him – Troy was a good guy, but it was hard to be nice to him when he had his arms around the one girl every man (including Matt) would kill to have.

They neared the boy's locker room, where the list was hung on the adjacent wall. Troy looked at the list, and after scanning for his name, smiled. "You made it?" Matt asked. Troy nodded, "Yeah…look, I gotta go. Gabby's waiting for me in the library." Matt nodded, and tried not to grit his teeth at the mention of Troy's goddess of a girlfriend. Troy walked off, leaving Matt alone. He paused before looking at list, praying that he made captain. He'd wanted it so badly, spent the entire summer working out and practicing endlessly. He glanced up at the list finally, holding his breath. There was his name, printed neatly in black in white. He allowed a small smile to creep up on his face.

Oh.  
Wait a minute.  
He glanced at the list once more.

Just above his name, another sentence was typed.

**Captain: Troy Bolton.**

The smile dissolved quickly. Matt clenched his fists. Troy had everything. _Everything._

Understanding parents. A great personality that made him likeable – too likeable. Money; Troy lived in an upscale part of town, driving a shiny Range Rover to school every day. Good, no, incredible looks that had girls swooning at the sight of him. Athletic skill – Troy was not only amazing at basketball, but also athletic all around. And Gabriella.

Matt clenched his fists so hard that it appeared his knuckles would rip out of his skin.

Gabriella, the angel. The stunning, beautiful, smart, athletic, sweet, funny, caring, confident, and incredibly goddess. Troy didn't notice all the guys that drooled over her when he wasn't looking. But Matt did. He was one of them.

And each one of them would do anything to have her.

_Anything._

"So Chad, ever thought about a haircut?" asked Ashley Stone, a flirty smile on her face. The other girls in the library giggled lightly. It wasn't really funny. Ashley frowned for a moment, noting the fakeness in their giggles. "Cutting it would be inhumane.....I'm pretty sure that thing's alive," Gabriella told Ashley, grinning. The other girls burst out laughing – even Chad couldn't help a chuckle.

Ashley restrained a glare, forcing a laugh instead. She wished _she_ had something like that. It was so unfair. Not only was Gabriella smart, athletic, confident, caring, and naturally beautiful, but she was also _funny._

"What's so funny?" asked a voice. The voice that girls dreamed about. All of the girls immediately stopped laughing, looking up at Troy with wide eyes. But he only had eyes for one.

He made his way to Gabriella, wrapping his arms around her, pulling her to his chest. He frowned slightly when she didn't return the embrace. He let go, stepping back. "What's wrong, baby?" he asked, concern laced in his velvet voice. Whatever was wrong, he intended to make it better as soon as possible. Anything to make his girl smile that radiant smile of hers. He watched as a small pout broke out on her lips. "You're late," she stated. Relief washed over him, and he grinned again. "I'm sorry," apologized, "The list was up." No one asked _which_ list. They knew.

The football team list was the football team list.

The soccer team list was the soccer team list.

The softball team list was the softball team list.

And so on….

But the basketball team lists and cross country team lists were _the__ lists._

Cross country and basketball were the two legendary sports. To be part of either team was considered an honor, and though East High was famous for all of its athletic programs, cross country and basketball outshined the rest. Every year, both teams went to county, state, and even national competitions. They were legend.

So it was only fitting that Troy be on the basketball team, and Gabriella on cross country.

Gabriella allowed Troy to pull her back into her arms, looping her own arms around his neck. "But I missed you," she whined, still pouting. He chuckled, "Good." And with that, he planted a sweet kiss on her lips. The girls in the library all 'awed' as they always had – because they had to admit, it _was_ incredibly romantic. They hid their jealous scowls well – they had, after all, been doing so for the duration of Troy and Gabriella's love fest. That was a loooooong time.

Troy felt himself becoming absorbed in the kiss, in her. He always did. When Gabriella finally pulled away, and asked, "So?" he blinked. "What?" he asked. "The list," she reminded him.

Oh yeah.  
He had temporarily forgotten the past few minutes. Actually, he had temporarily forgotten his entire life prior to that sweet kiss.

She didn't ask if he had made it or not. He was Troy Bolton – it was practically a given that he'd be on the team. Not due to his fame, due to his _skill_. "I'm captain," he stated. The group of teens around them erupted in cheers, the whoops from the girls genuine and adoring, and the hollers from the guys admiring, yet bitter.

Troy and Gabriella didn't notice. They never did.

"Congrats, babe," Gabriella told him sincerely, love sparkling in her eyes. He pecked her lips once more, before muttering, "Thanks." Standing on her tip toes, she put her lips to his ear, "My parents are going out tonight…we can celebrate then." He felt a shudder run down his spine at the proposal from the seductive goddess. He buried his face in her soft curls, closing his eyes. He imagined that night…the kisses filled to the brim with desire and desperation……the soft feel of her bare skin against his…..the arousing sound of both of their moans mixed together as they-

"Dude? _Dude?"_ Chad shook Troy. Blinking, Troy pulled his face out of Gabriella's hair, looking at her. She was smiling in amusement. He shot her a fake glare before turning to Chad, keeping Gabriella locked in his arms. "Did you hear what I said?" Chad asked. Troy shook his head, trying to hide his annoyance at the fact that Chad had ripped him out of his fantasies. Chad shook his head at his best friend, walking off.

Troy reluctantly let go of Gabriella, to sit down in a chair at the large table that everyone was seated at. He pulled Gabriella down onto his lap, resting his chin on her shoulder. Bending down from his lap, Gabriella bent down to pull a notebook out of her bag and placed it on the table. The rest of group continued studying and chatting quietly, Troy and Gabriella being pulled in and out of conversations. As Gabriella studied and made light conversation with her peers around the table, Troy placed small kiss around her neck, making her smile. Everyone else watched in jealousy as he continued, nibbling on her ear lobe, biting down softly on her neck causing her to giggle. "So Gabrie—Gabby," Ashley started, attempting to pull Gabriella back into the real world. Anything to stop the sickening love-fest. Gabriella looked up, and Ashley sighed in relief. Ashley started a light and completely pointless conversation with Gabriella, as to keep her distracted from Troy. Watching their romantic moments was torture for Ashley, as it was everyone else at the table. She wanted to be seated on Troy lap, have him kiss her the way he kissed Gabriella, have him murmur sweet things in her ear like he did with Gabriella. Have him love her the way he did Gabriella. She would do anything to have him.

_Anything._

Last period that day found Troy sitting anxiously in his seat. Mr. Klein was handing out the unit assessments. Troy bounced his leg nervously…history had always been his worst subject. So many damn dates to remember! The groans of disappointment occurring throughout the room only increased his fear, and when Mr. Klein neared his desk he held his breath. Without looking at Troy, he placed the test face-down on his desk. Slowly, Troy lifted it up, turning it over.

_**60%**_

Troy sighed in defeat. This would bring his average down almost two letter grades. He sighed, thinking back to what he had been doing when he was _supposed_ to be studying. Bits of memory flooded back to him, like choppy scenes from a movie.

_The entire vision was of Gabriella…her beautiful face, full of pleasure…her beautiful body, bare and exposed to the world –well, to him…..her beautiful moans, enticing and arousing…._

"Mr. Bolton!" Mr. Klein's sharp voice rang throughout the classroom. Several students turned to look at Troy, who nearly groaned out loud. Damn people, interrupting his fantasies… "Sorry Sir," Troy muttered. Mr. Klein nodded and continued. "As you all know, you all did not perform exceedingly well this unit. In fact, the highest score was an 86. Because I am so generous-," at this Troy tried not to roll his eyes, "I am offering a re-take of the exam." All of the students, including Troy sighed in relief. "It will be held during lunch…," Troy smiled – this was a chance to get his grade back up, "…tomorrow."

At this, a murmur and gasp rippled through the classroom. Mr. Klein seemed indifferent to their shock. "T-tomorrow?" a student asked, bewildered, like everyone else. Mr. Klein nodded, "Yes, you heard me. Tomorrow." "But sir, that only gives us tonight to study!" Troy exclaimed. Some students nodded in agreement. "Yes, Mr. Bolton, but I assume you should be fine. After all, you didn't show an interest in paying attention to today's lesson, you were staring into space. So, obviously, you already know this material?" Troy did his best not to glare. Both he and Mr. Klein knew that Troy was far from knowing all of the material. The bell rang, and students filed out of the room, murmuring about the test tomorrow. Troy grabbed his books and followed, silently damning Mr. Klein to hell.

After stopping by his locker and grabbing his backpack, Troy shoved his way through the masses of students as he made his way down the hall. After pulling himself out of the ocean of students, all excited to leave the hell hole known as school, he reached his destination; Gabriella's locker. "Hey," he said, leaning against the locker next to hers, watching her intently. She glanced up at him quickly, shutting her locker after retrieving her bag. "Hey babe," she chirped. As she tried to stuff one too many books into her bag, they all seemed to explode, and fell to the floor. Before she could move, Troy was on the floor, picking up her books quickly before anyone could step on them. Gabriella smiled at Troy's sweetness, "Thanks Troy," she murmured when he handed her the books. He looked into her deep chocolate eyes, shimmering with gratitude and affection. He can't help but remember how damn much he loves this girl. "I would do anything for you, Gabby. Anything," he murmurs sincerely. Smiling gently, Gabriella allows her bag to slide off of her shoulder, down her arm and onto the floor next to her locker. She wraps her arms around Troy's neck, and rests her forehead against his. "I would do anything for you too, Troy. Anything."

Troy walked Gabriella to her shiny black Mercedes, as he always did. When they crossed the busy parking lot and reached her car, a thought struck him. "Gabby?" he asked. "Yeah?" she asked, pressing a button on her car-remote, unlocking the luxury ride. "Why do we drive separately?"he questioned. She opened the passenger side door, placed her bag on the seat, then closed the door and turned around to faceTroy. "What you mean?" she asked, leaning back against her car. He leaned forward slightly, placing his hands on either side of her, locking her in. She looped her arms around his neck, waiting for him continue. "I mean, we live so close to each other – hell, sometimes we stay at each other's houses- why do we drive separately? Why don't we just drive together?"he asked. She smiled, "Okay!" He blinked. "Okay?" She giggles lightly, "Yeah. Okay. I mean, my dad would love that. I spend most of my gas money on the trip to school. Carpooling is also good for the environment," she reminded him. He chuckled, "True. So when do we start?"

"How about next week? You can drive for…a month, then we'll switch, and I'll drive?"

"Sounds like a plan."

"Okay…pick me up at seven?"

He nodded again, leaning forward even more so that he could feel her sweet breath on his face. She pushed her lips against his, and he smiled into the kiss. His warms lips danced with hers for a while, and he ran his tongue along her bottom lip, asking for entrance, which she allowed. His tongue dove into its favorite place – her mouth, re-exploring every inch of it. Finally, he pulled away, breathless and smiling. "I'll see you tomorrow?" he asked, though he knew he would. She nodded, and he pecked her lips once more before heading off to his own car.

As Troy waited in the long car line to get out of the school parking lot, he glanced casually in his rear view mirror. There she was, right behind him. She looked up, saw him in the mirror, smiled and blew him a kiss. He couldn't help but grin. God, he would do anything for that girl.

Anything.

**Yay! I'm feeling better! Okay, so here's the deal – **_**10 (OR MORE) REVIEWS FOR THE NEXT CHAPTER**_** – that means at least 18 reviews before I update! I'm sorry, I feel bad doing this, but if I don't, you don't review!**


	3. Study Date

As soon as Troy pulled up in front of the massive building he called home, his heart began racing. He grabbed his backpack and sprinted through the door. "Hey honey!" his mother called from the shiny kitchen. She stepped into the hall to meet her son, wearing white pants and a green cardigan, with light makeup and manicured nails. Lucille Bolton was practically the definition of an upscale suburban mother. "Hey mom," Troy greeted her breathlessly. She frowned, confused by his haste. "What's going on?" she asked. "I gotta finish studying by tonight, because Gabby and I wanna hang out," he explained quickly. An understanding, motherly – and slightly amused – smile crept up on Lucille's face. Lucille loved Gabriella like a daughter – and she was sure in a few years, Gabriella _would_ be her daughter. Well, daughter-in-law. Troy began to dash up the stairs, only to stop and turn back. "That reminds me," he said, panting slightly, "Can I sleep over at Gabby's tonight?" Lucille frowned slightly, "Hun, it's Thursday – a school night…," she reminded him. "Mama…please?" he pleaded, whining slightly. Lucille sighed, smiling. "Alright, but if you're late to school tomorrow…," she left the threat hanging, still empty. Grinning, Troy sprinted up the steps towards his bedroom. Shaking her head, still smiling, Lucille headed back towards the kitchen. Troy may be seventeen, but he would always be her baby boy.

Three hours later found Troy hunched over his desk, his face scrunched up. It was seven o' clock, and he was far from being finished. He should be finishing dinner and heading towards Gabby's house by now. He was swamped in projects, homework and assignments. He hadn't even _started_ studying for history, which would no doubt take hours. Damn it, he wouldn't be done before midnight. He closed eyes, sighing frustration. Damn, damn, _damn_. With schoolwork piling up, and Troy's upcoming basketball practices, it was going to be harder and harder to spend time with Gabriella outside of school. Also, cross country would be starting soon, and Gabriella was definitely going to be on the team. He rubbed his temple, groaning. All he wanted was some time with his girlfriend. Was that so much to ask? He thought not. He reached across his desk, grabbing his iPhone. He scrolled down his contacts list until he found what he wanted; Gabriella Montez. He began a text message to her, only to cancel it. He needed to hear her voice. He quickly tapped in the number he knew by heart, the three rings seeming like ages – he was suddenly excited to hear her voice. "Hey, babe," she said into the phone. He closed his eyes, smiling lazily. There it was, that honey sweet voice that blessed his dreams. Then he remembered exactly _why_ he was calling, and he opened his eyes.

He didn't want to do this.

"Hello?" she asked, waiting for a reply.

He really didn't want to do this.

Not because she'd get mad – he knew she'd be understanding and even helpful about it. He simply didn't want to do this, to cancel their time together, time that was so valued, so precious to both of them.

"Gabs…,"he started off. He sighed, closing his eyes again. He felt almost angry – he could be spending time with his gorgeous goddess of a girlfriend, time that was valuable, considering basketball and cross country practices would begin soon, on top of the huge piles of homework. But no. He was sitting in his room doing homework. _Homework._

He would skip it if he could – he really would. But his grades were down to a B; if he didn't pull them up soon, his parents would limit his already limited time with Gabriella. And studying – he had to study for tomorrow's re-do! No doubt, he wouldn't go to sleep before 2 am. There was simply no other alternative. He clenched his fists. Stupid fucking homework.

"Troy?" she asked uncertainly.

"Baby…I can't make it tonight," he admitted bitterly.

"Oh…why not?" she asked, and Troy could hear the disappointment she was trying to cover in her voice.

"I've gotta bunch of school shit…I probably won't go to bed till, like, three," he sighed, "I've got so much – and I barely know what I'm doing…"

"What are you stuck on?"

"The math homework."

"…I could come over and help you…"

Troy immediately perked up, opening his eyes and unclenching his fists. It wouldn't be the romantic evening they'd had planned, but they'd still be together. Now he wouldn't have to stay up until three AM all alone…

But no.  
He couldn't do that to her. He couldn't let her come over here, to help him with his work. She'd up just as late as him, and he knew she needed the rest just as much –if not more.

"Baby…no…I'm gonna be up really late," he explained, defeated once more.

"It's fine…I still have the science work to do. We can do homework together, then I'll help you study."

Holy shit.  
He did not deserve this angel.

Once again, Troy was blown away by Gabriella's kindness.

"Baby…"

"Then I can sleep over at your house---if that's ok…," the last part came out as a question.

Troy could've laughed. _Of course_ it was ok. She was coming over, wasting her resting time, to help him with his school work. She (like him) would be a zombie in the morning – she was doing it for him. And now she wasn't sure if, in return, she could sleep at his house? That was absurd. Troy would give her anything, and a night at his house was _nothing._ He enjoyed their 'sleepovers' just as much, if not more, than she did.

"O-of course, baby…," he murmured into the phone, still shocked.

"Kay, I'll be there in a few minutes."

He could think of a way to thank her. To show her how truly grateful he was – not just for this little event, but for all of the things she had done for him. For simply being his.

"I love you," he finally said.

"I love you too," and with that, she hung up.

He closed his eyes once more, a faint smile tugging at his lips.

He was so fucking lucky to have her.


	4. Sacrifice

**Guys, I am so terribly sorry for the delay. But I think I have a (sort of) legitimate excuse. I had this story started a few weeks ago, but I got so sidetracked with mid-term exams and tennis tournaments that I lost track of time! And now, here on the east coast we have two feet of snow and no internet connection, so even as I finish up this story and type these very words, I probably won't be able to post this until next week….which, for you, is **_**now**_**, since obviously, you are reading this….**_**now**_**, which isn't **_**now-now,**_** but it's **_**now**_** to you….oh, never mind! Basically, I am writing this on 2/8, but you are probably reading this on, oh I don't know, after. Now on to the story!**

Troy sat there, holding the phone to his ear, a lazy smile still planted on his face. She had already hung up, but he kept the phone to his ear in a daze, as if, by some miracle her honey-sweet voice would float back to him.

He still couldn't believe how perfect she was.

He supposed he should have been used to it by now. They'd been together for over two years.

And yet, the experience was new every day.

Every day, when she walked through the doors of East High, he felt his knees weaken at the sight of her beauty.

Every day, it baffled him, how selfless and caring she was.

And every day, it crashed down on him, that she loved him too.

"_Troy?"_ his mother's voice rang out from downstairs, breaking him out of his post-Gabriella stupor. He dashed out his room, leaning over the railing.

"Yeah?"

"Isn't that Gabby's car pulling up in the driveway?"

Troy ran down the stairs to gaze through the window. Sure enough, a sleek silver Mercedes was pulling in. He couldn't help the smile that crossed his lips. She was here.

He ran the down the rest of the spiral staircase, taking three steps at a time and nearly tripping over himself. He reached the huge front door just as she rang the doorbell. He wrenched the door to reveal his gorgeous girlfriend. She revealed her radiating smile as she looked up at him. It had only been a few hours since he had seen her, she was still dressed the same, and yet her beauty never failed to stun him. He grabbed her hand and pulled her to his chest, wrapping his arms around her. She looped her arms around his neck, and reached up on her tip-toes to peck his lips. They remained in the embrace for a few moments longer, until Lucille walked out into the massive foyer.

"Hi, Gabby," she smiled at Gabriella, who greeted her back from Troy's arms, "I thought you were staying at Gabby's tonight?" she addressed her son.

He shrugged, "Change of plans…is it okay?" he looked at his mother, his arms still wrapped around his girlfriend.

"Remember, you two have school tomorrow," she reminded them unnecessarily, as mothers often do.

The two nodded, and Troy reluctantly let go of Gabriella, taking her hand and pulling her up the stairs to his bedroom.

Once inside Troy's spacious room, Gabriella carelessly tossed her book bag onto Troy's bed. "So…how about we do our homework…then, I can help you study?" she asked.

He nodded, intensely gazing at her with love. She looked up at him, only to find him staring at her. "What?" she asked, blushing slightly. He smiled at this, loving that he could make her blush. He grabbed her hand and abruptly pulled her to him, gripping her hips and gazing down at her. "I love you," he told her, sincerity and adoration dripping from his voice.

She smiled gently, reaching up to cup his cheek with her hand. "I love you too."

They stood there a while, before parting to gather their books and papers. Troy pulled a chair up to the desk for Gabriella, before seating himself and turning on the desk lamp, the light shining off the glossy wooden surface.

Gabriella plopped down on the seat next to him, placing her journal and textbook on the desk next to his materials. As he was about to put his arm around her shoulders, as he usually did when they were seated next to each other, she used her legs to push off and the wheeled chair rolled backwards towards Troy's bed. She suddenly placed her feet on the ground, stopping herself as she reached the end of Troy's kind sized bed. She shoved her hand into her bag, digging around until her hang emerged with a sleek purple pen.

Troy watched as she clicked the end to make the ball-point pop out. He stared as she frowned, running the tip up and down the length of her finger, testing the ink. When her finger remained spotless, her frown only grew and Troy found himself grinning just watching her little drama. Finally, after digging through her bag, she found another pink pen. She looked up to find Troy staring at her, still grinning.

Realizing that he had witnessed her tiny pen episode, she blushed, smiling sheepishly. She used her strong legs to propel herself back to the desk, next to Troy, whose eyes never left her. Once there, she looked up at him, to find that he was _still_ grinning at her.

"Troy!" she exclaimed, her cheeks continuing to redden.

His grin only grew at the fact that a mere smile had agitated his girlfriend so much. "Yeah, babe?"

She didn't quite know how to scold him, or what to scold him for, for that matter. "Just…do your work."

He chuckled, his grin never fading. "Whatever you say, babe."

"Whatever."

He slung his left arm around her, seeing as she was seated to his left, and pulled her close to him. He kissed the top of her head, and continued filling in his math problems with his right hand. Gabriella flipped through her French textbook, reviewing vocabulary for next week's test. They continued to work in comfortable silence for the next hour, Troy's arm remaining around Gabriella's shoulder, and Gabby's head on his shoulder.

"Gab?"

"Mmm?"

"In a radical, if I want to distribute 3 radical 7, the radical seven can only go to the other radical, right?"

"Right…you can only put like terms together."

"Right, thanks babe." He placed another kiss to the top of her dark curls.

"Mmm hmm…"

A knock at the door sounded, and the two looked up to see Lucille entering.

"Your father's home, Troy. Do you two want dinner?"

The two glanced at each other.

They would never finish if they took time off for dinner.

"Uh…Mom, we kinda need to get this done…"

"Do you want me to bring something up?"

"That'd be great. Thanks, Mom."

"Thanks Mrs. Bolton," Gabby added.

Lucille smiled at the couple before heading back downstairs.

About fifteen minutes later, Lucille returned with two plates of food, placing them on the large desk surface (if you haven't guessed, this is a very large desk. :) ) Troy and Gabriella continued to work, nibbling on dinner as they went. At 10:00, Gabriella slammed her textbook shut.

"Done," she huffed, relieved.

Troy looked up at her.

She looked tired –no, exhausted. Her deep brown eyes seemed so exasperated, begging for sleep. Her entire form was slouching, as if she would collapse any moment.

She _needed_ rest. And he was the one depriving her of it.

He hated himself for it. She deserved to be tucked in bed, safe and sound. And yet, he had allowed her to come over here and waste her precious time.

She had offered to sacrifice her sleep for him, that was true.

But he had let her.

Noticing the pained looked in his eyes, Gabriella's eyebrows rose with concern.

"What's wrong?" she asked him caringly. She sounded so sweet, so….exhausted.

God, it _hurt_.

To see her so worn out after such a long day, knowing that he was doing nothing to help. That he had _let_ this happen.

He squeezed his eyes shut. How could he do this to her? _Stupid, stupid Bolton._

"Troy?...."

He opened his eyes slowly, taking her hand in his. "I'm so sorry, Gabs…"

Her delicate eyebrows knitted, displaying her confusion towards his apology.

"For keeping you up," he explained, seeing her lost expression. Her eyebrows immediately unfurrowed in understanding.

"Babe, it's ok…I told you I'd do this. You never forced me to do anything."

Troy sighed. She was so nice, so giving…it only made it hurt more. She didn't deserve this. They both knew how valuable sleep was to a teenager. School was long and tiring, and hours after school were full of homework and extra-curricular activities.

They were constantly multi-tasking, and sleep was the one period of pure relief.

And he was taking that away from her.

…….But wait………

He could fix it.  
He couldn't get back the hours they'd already spent, but he could give her the time that remained….

"Let's go to sleep," he finally said.

"What about your test tomorrow?"

"Fuck it. I'll fail it, but whatever. You need rest-,"at this she opened her mouth, so he rephrased, "-_we_ need rest."

"No," she stated simply.

"Gabs-"

"No Troy," she cut him off, "You need this grade. It's just one night Troy," she saw him frown, "_one night."_

Troy sighed, burying his face in his hands. "I can't do that to you, Gabs. You have a lot to deal with too, you have that French test," he lifted his face and motioned towards her French textbook, "and how can you concentrate then? You're already exhausted – you know you are."

"I know I am."

"Then -,"

"Then I might get a bad grade. So what? I have a ninety-eight in that class, Troy! A _ninety-eight!_ I could bomb the test and still have an A in the class! Your grade depends on tomorrow's test. Mine doesn't."

He closed his eyes. She was right.

He tilted his head upwards, thanking the heavens for this goddess of a girlfriend. This angel that was all his.

"I love you," he murmured, his eyes still shut.

She smiled and leaned over to peck his cheek. "Let's get studying."

For three more hours, Gabriella relentlessly quizzed Troy. On many dates, on many people, on many revolutions incited by many events led by many leaders. When Troy looked at her, he felt his heart tremble in pain. Her eyelids were drooping so that her chocolate irises were not fully visible. Her shoulders were slouching, her entire body looking like it would collapse, like she didn't have the energy to support herself.

"Babe," he murmured quietly, running his fingers through his chestnut hair.

She looked up from his large history textbook, slowly, as if her neck was too weak to support her heavy head.

"Wanna study in bed?"

She nodded slowly, placing the book on the desk and stretching her arms. Troy looked out ahead of him, into the dark hallway. His parents had long since gone to bed, and all the lights in the house were off. Except, of course, for Troy's.

She stood slowly, as if her legs had a terrible ache, grasping the heavy textbook and stumbling towards Troy's king-sized bed. It looked so inviting…

He clumsily unplugged the desk lamp, and carried over towards his bed, placing it on his bedside table and plugging it in there. He shut then walked towards the entrance to his room, reaching for the large panel of switches and flicking them all down in one fluid motion. Immediately, the room was bathed in a deep darkness that made it even more challenging for the two of them to remain awake. The only light that remained on was the lamp on the bedside table, and Gabriella stared at it, hoping that it's bright intensity would help her avoid sleep. She turned when she felt a tug on her hand.

It was Troy. Sleepily, they both peeled off their clothes until Troy was only in boxers and Gabriella only in a camisole and boyshorts.

The two climbed into bed, it's warmth enveloping them immediately and seducing them into sleep. But no, they had to stay awake. Struggling to keep their eyes open, the two continued to study, Gabriella reading facts from the book and leaving the sentences open for Troy to finish. She knew Troy learned well this way.

Finally Troy glanced at the clock. It was almost four. They had to wake up at seven, and school started at seven forty five.

Damn.

"Gabs," he murmured, his voice thick with sleep.

She looked up at him tiredly.

"I think that's enough. Let's sleep."

Too exhausted to reply, she simply pushed the book off of the bed. It landed with a _thud._ Reaching over her, Troy switched the lamp off, leaving his arm draped over her frame. She snuggled into his chest, kissing the base of his neck before mumbling a "Night."

"Night baby. I love you," he whispered into her deep curls, pulling her tighter against him.

"Love…you…too…," she mumbled, slowly drifting into sleep.

Before allowing himself to join her in sleep, he found the strength to thank god once more for angel in his arms.

**Yay! Again, sorry for the delay – it's not (completely) my fault! So what'd ya think? **_**REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! **_


	5. Exhaustion pt1

**Sorry this is late! I've been really busy. And I lost my tennis tournament yesterday :(**

**So I noticed I got a lot of "Story Alerts," or "Favorite Story"s, but very few reviews. I mean, if you're gonna Favorite this story, or put it on Alert, how hard is it to type in a few words in a review? It's almost offensive, guys. So please, if you put this story on Alert or something, please take the time to give me some feedback. It means a lot to me (and thanks to those who did review. You guys are great.)**

**Also, this isn't complete…I actually meant to finish this chapter, add more to it, I never got the time…but I felt it wasn't fair to just hold this back until who-knows-when I'll be able to finish it, so here it is. Hopefully I'll be able to complete this chapter once things lighten up.**

_**BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BE—**_

Troy slammed his alarm clock into silence. Slowly he peeled his eyes open to glance wearily at the clock (he could've sworn it was pouting now). It was exactly six 'o clock.

Damn.

He glanced down, a smile instinctively creeping onto his face when he saw the girl he loved more than life snuggled into his form. He relished these moments, when he awoke before her, and got to watch her sleep, looking so adorably peaceful, so…angelic.

Unfortunately, he didn't have much time to relish it

It was six, and school started at seven fifteen. It was a twenty minute drive, so they had fifty five minutes to shower, get dressed, organize their papers they had left strewn on Troy's desk, pack their bags, eat breakfast and hit the road.

Shit.

He glanced back at her. A small smile was tinted on her lips, and he felt the sudden urge to kiss them. So he did. He gently pushed his lips to her, feeling sparks shoot from his heart through his veins. After a few moments, her lips began to move with his, and she draped her arm across his back. He shifted himself so he was fully on top of her, running his tongue along her bottom lip, silently asking for entrance. Immediately, she opened her mouth just enough for him to slide in tongue inside, tangling with hers. He moved one hand behind her head to knot in her hair, and the other hand to cup her soft cheek. The way she slipped her calf around his leg and rubbed her tongue against his made him moan. Her lips lifted into a smile against his, and he couldn't help but smile back.

God, he could do this forever, forget about everything. Work…school….grades….

Wait.  
_School!_

Sighing, Troy pulled back. "Good morning," Gabriella murmured, her smile still painted on her luscious lips.

"Morning baby," he mumbled back, his own smile fading as he looked into her eyes. They were sparkling as always, but they weren't as bright, as lively…they were tired. "I'm sorry for keeping you up," he whispered, remorse seeping through him. She smiled weakly, cupping his cheek, which nuzzled with his cheek. "It's fine," she murmured.

He rolled off of her, extending his hand. She accepted and he gently pulled her up. She glanced tiredly at his clock. It was six fifteen. They had spent fifteen minutes _making out?_

Hell, yeah.

"We should shower," Gabby mumbled sleepily, swaying on her feet. Troy grabbed her hand and pulled her to him, wrapping his arms around her and keeping her upright.

"Ya know," he murmured into her ear, "We'd save time if we showered together…"

Gabriella rolled her eyes. "Troy…"

"No, really! We have forty minutes to shower, get dressed, pack our shit and eat," he said, doing his best to persuade her into the idea.

She sighed, biting her lip that looked so inviting to him. "Fine," she finally huffed. "But no sex."

He raised his eyebrows in disbelief.

"Babe, like you said… We have forty minutes. _Forty_ minutes! When we have sex, we take…," she scrunched her eyebrows so adorably that Troy found himself grinning, "…A while."

He gripped her hips, forcefully pulling her to him. "We'll skip foreplay," he murmured huskily in her ear. She smiled coyly for a moment, before pulling her head back and shaking her head. "Troy…no. We can't." He whined, dropping his down to her shoulder.

"Please, baby…," he pleaded, "You know you want to…."

She sighed again, running a hand through his hair. "I know I want to. But we can't. First of all, it'll take time. Second of all, I don't know about you, but I'm exhausted."

He sighed. "I'm sorry baby." She raised an eyebrow. "For making you exhausted," he explained. She smiled and pecked his cheek. "It's fine babe. Now let's go shower." He nodded and smiled, taking her hand and leading her towards the bathroom.

This was hell. Pure torture. It was one-hundred percent pain.

Pleasurable pain.

He stood in the shower, with the hot water raining down on him from above. He held a bar of soap in his hand, which hung loosely at his side. He stood in a daze, watching the sexy temptress undress just outside of the shower. He kept his mouth clamped tightly, for fear of letting drool slide down his chin. His eyes burned when hot droplets of water hit his irises, but he didn't dare take his gaze off of the goddess in front of him. She turned around, her body fully exposed, to face him. She smiled at him, and his heart went to into overdrive. Then her eyes trailed down, and a fat smirk planted itself upon her lips.

His dick was standing up at a ninety degree angle.

Realizing where she was looking, he blushed.

Gabriella was the only girl who could make him blush. Ever.

"It's not fair," he mumbled embarrassedly, taking her hand and pulling her under the water with him, "You turn me on without even touching me."

"And you don't do the same to me?" she breathed in his ear. He shivered, then reached his trembling hand out to slide down her stomach, down…down…down, until he was almost between her legs. He heard her breathing hitch, and he couldn't help but smirk slightly. Finally, he reached the most intimate spot on her body, gently slipping a single finger inside of her warmth.

Holy fuck, she was _wet._

She moaned quietly, and he pulled his finger out ever so slowly.

He placed his hands on her hips and pulled her to him, moaning hoarsely when the tip of his erection rubbed against the skin below her belly button.

They closed their eyes, enjoying the warmth and comfort of being with each other so intimately.

He tilted his head so that his cheek rested on the top of her head, inhaling deeply and contentedly.

"Troy?" Gabriella pulled her head out of the crook of his neck, smiling knowingly.

"Mmm?"

"We should probably actually shower now."

Troy stood in his room, with just a towel wrapped around his waist. He opened his closet, grabbing a pair of jeans and a black t-shirt. Letting the towel to fall to the ground, he slipped into a pair of boxers, sliding into the jeans after.

"Troy?" he heard a whimper behind him. He turned to see Gabriella standing helplessly, clad in nothing but a towel. He dripping locks were laid over her bare shoulders. Troy couldn't help but grin.

She was too adorable.

"Yeah, babe?"

"I have nothing to wear," she pouted. His grin grew broader. She looked so adorably upset. He walked across the room to wrap his arms around her. She whimpered again as she let one arm wind around his neck, running her hand up and down his bare chest, giving him shivers.

"Babe, you have so much to wear."

"But I don't know _what_ to wear."

His smile faded slowly. Gabriella was usually a fashion queen, skillfully picking out stylish outfits in record time. The exhaustion and lack of sleep were obviously affecting her.

Troy bit his lip. It was up to him.

Could his do this?

He took a deep breath. Fashion was not really his field of expertise, but he'd give it a shot, for her. In fact, it wouldn't be too hard. Troy knew Gabriella better than anyone. He knew that when she was stressed over, well, anything, ice cream was her guilty pleasure. He knew that she loved soda, but hated root beer with a passion, but had gulped some down on her first date with him, as not to offend him (he loved the beverage). He knew that she was by no means a picky eater, but avoided seafood if she could. He knew that she loved fashion, and though she read a few girly magazines for tips, she was naturally stylish. Luckily, he also knew that when she was tired, she opted for something casual and comfortable, but good looking.

He darted back into his walk-in closet, scanning all of Gabby's clothes that she kept at his house. He fished out a pair of soft black leggings that he knew accented her long legs. He turned around, searching for something to wear on top. He had heard enough female conversation to know "only long shirts could be worn with leggings. Duh!"

Well, maybe not the "duh" part.

He turned around looking around desperately. _Think long and comfortable, Bolton._ He sighed in relief when he found Gabby's long white tank top on a hanger. He remembered the last time she had worn it. It hadn't stayed on for very long. Smirking to himself, he began walking out of the closet, before stopping himself, grabbing her black leggings on the way out.

Wait.

It was February. Given, it was New Mexico, but the weather was still chilly. She wouldn't survive in a tank top. Dashing back into the closet, he scanned hastily again. He spied his red Wildcats sweatshirt lying in the corner. Perfect!

He dashed back out. "Here, wear this," he said, breathlessly handing her the clothes. Her heart melted.

He was so sweet.

Comfortable in Troy's presence, she let the towel fall to the ground, smirking to herself as Troy gawked. She slipped into a pair of pink lacy panties, but before she could put on a bra, Troy grabbed both her hands and pulled her to him.

"You're so beautiful," he whispered in her ear. She smiled, leaning against him for support, as her tired legs could barely hold her up.

"I love you," she murmured openly. He kissed the top of her head.

"Love you too."

She put on the rest of her outfit, then looked back at Troy.

"Troy!" she exclaimed.

"Gabby!" he called back, mocking her excited tone.

"This actually looks good!" She was right. The outfit was casually trendy.

"Why so surprised?" he asked dryly.

She smiled, before glancing at the clock.

"Troy!" she yelped.

"Gabby!" he yelped, mocking her again.

"We have 10 minutes!"

"Holy shit! I'll go start breakfast." He and Gabriella had shared many school mornings together. He knew she wanted time to apply makeup and all.

Scrambling down the stairs, he stuffed two Pop-Tarts into the toaster, wrenching open the fridge to grab the bottle of orange juice, and setting it on the counter before pulling the jar of sugar out of cabinet. He knew that even though Gabby didn't have a sweet tooth, she demanded a tad bit of sugar with orange juice.

He hadn't even had time to slide the Pop-Tarts onto plates before she came scrambling down the stairs as well. He looked up at her in awe. Her makeup was light, barely there, and she was stunning. Her hair was in flawless locks. He knew from chats with his friends that most girls took atleast half an hour every morning to attend to their appearances.

It hadn't even been 5 minutes.

"God, you gorgeous girl," he garbled, awed in her presence. She smiled weakly at him, exhaustion nearly pouring out of her eyes. He stumbled over to her, his own exhaustion making him a bit clumsy. He was about to pull her into him when she stepped back.

"Babe, we have like five minutes."

Sighing dejectedly, he nodded and turned around, trudging back into the spacious kitchen. She bit her lip, trying to fight temptation.

"Okay, maybe one quick kiss," she sighed, unable to resist.

He darted back to her, grabbing her and smashing his lips down onto hers. They both felt momentary sparks shoot through their tired bodies, but he pulled back all too soon. "Love you," he whispered, before glancing up at clock. "Shit," he muttered, letting go of her and clumsily darting back to grab the Pop-Tarts. He handed her her glass of orange juice, as he gulped his down, practically choking on it. They down the juice in record time.

"I'll grab our stuff, you go start the car," Gabby said, breathless. Nodding, he dashed out the door, leaving Gabriella alone in the massive, glossy kitchen. Lucille had already left to pick Jack up from the airport, as he had been on a business meeting in Utah. She scrambled down the hall, grabbing her and Troy's backpack. She ran back down the hall, towards the door. If she had been a little less exhausted, she probably would have noticed the rise in the elegant silk carpet on the floor, and she went crashing down. She let out a yelp of pain as her knee was jammed forcefully into the hard, marble floor. Hot tears flooded her vision as pure, burning pain shot through her entire leg. She sat on the floor, cradling her injured leg and letting salty tears run down her face. The pain was unbearable.

She struggled to pick herself up, and once she regained her balance, she leaned down to pick up the backpacks. Their weight, that she normally could have carried, nearly pulled her back to the ground. Grunting in pain, she managed to limp back to the kitchen. She grabbed the Pop-Tarts from the counter, where Troy had left them and struggled to make it to the door. Her exhaustion was clouding her vision, along with the tears that remained in her eyes.

She managed to make it out the front the door, towards the shiny black BMW that Troy was waiting in. When he saw her, he darted out of the car to take the backpacks from her hand. Letting them drop onto the driveway, he quickly gathered his crying girlfriend into his arms, stroking her hair gently.

"Baby," he murmured concernedly in her ear, "What happened?"

"Fell," she managed to choke out.

"Oh, honey," he murmured, his heart aching to her so pained. He let her lean against him while he opened the cars back door to toss in their backpacks. He helped her

**Okay, so that's where I left off. I know, I didn't even finish the sentence! I started this chapter, maybe, a month or so ago, then added to it like two weeks ago…..then felt bad for not posting, so uploaded this half-chapter today!**

**Please don't hate me….hate my schedule for over-filling itself!  
(And my teachers for giving us WAYYY too much work)**

_**REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!**_


	6. Exhaustion pt2

**I want to start off by apologizing. This update is way overdue. But things have been very hectic, what with upcoming tennis tryouts, preparing for the new school year and all. Also, my cousin passed away just last month, and that was very hard on my family. Please understand, and I hope you enjoy this chapter. Half of it was written two months ago, and the other half I just did today.**

He helped her in the car, settling her in her seat before speed-walking around the car and sitting in his own seat. He leaned over the gap between their seats, reaching down to her ankle and grabbing onto the material of her leggings. He tugged up until the stretchy material was at her thigh. He cringed, feeling his heart ache for his girlfriend when he saw the ugly purple bruise that had painted itself across her skin. He ran his hand over her colorful knee cap, ripping his hand away when she gasped in pain. "Something's not right…," he murmured. He was no doctor, but he knew the hard bump in her flesh was _not_ supposed to be there. "I'll go to the nurse," she whispered, her voice raspy with pain. He nodded, leaning back in his seat and closing his eyes momentarily. The exhaustion was taking a heavy toll on both of them. He felt her running the back of her soft hand over his cheeks. He smiled gently at the sensation before grabbing her hand and kissing it a few times, before intertwining their hands on his lap, keeping one hand firmly on the wheel.

"Are you sure you're up to driving?"

"Yeah…I'm fine."

Troy sleepily turned on the engine, and they made their way to hell.

Upon entering the building, Troy pulled Gabriella into his side, murmuring "I'll meet you at your locker."

She nodded and stumbled sleepily down the hall towards her locker. He watched after her for a few moments, a small smile playing on his lips, before leaning tiredly against the cold metal of his own locker.

"Long night?"

Troy opened his eyes to see Matt standing in front of him. "Yeah," he muttered in reply.

Matt gritted his teeth. He could only imagine what had kept Troy and Gabriella up so late. He cringed to imagine Troy hovering over Gabriella, her body exposed as she moaned with that smooth, honey-toned voice of hers, her olive skin glowing in the light of the lamp…..

"We were up studying."

Matt would be lying if he said he wasn't relieved.

"Oh. Well…I gotta go. Bye dude."

Troy nodded in response, too tired to form words. He pulled open his locker and shoved his backpack inside, too tired to think of what he was supposed to do next. He stood there, swaying on his feet, his eyes slowly drifting shut…..

_BRINGGGGGGGGG!_

The second bell rang out, loud and clear, rudely pulling Troy into consciousness. Groaning, he pushed onto his feet, stumbling now that he was no longer leaning against his locker. He trudged to homeroom, tripping into his seat as Mrs. Darbus raised an eyebrow. "Any reason for your tardiness, Mr. Bolton?"

"Sorry," was all he could offer.

Rolling her eyes, she scanned the attendance list once more. "Mr. Bolton?"

He looked up at the sound of his name.

"Any idea where your other half may be?"

The entire school was aware of Troy and Gabriella's glamorous relationship, even the staff.

Blinking heavily, Troy swiveled in his seat to check the desk behind him. His heart stopped when he realized that this was the first time in years that he had walked into homeroom without her. He had _forgotten._ He had been so tired, so wrapped up in his own exhaustion, that she hadn't even crossed his mind.

That never happened. _Never._  
He couldn't believe himself. Had he actually _forgotten_ about her? He knew it wasn't that big of a deal, it was only a ten minute period that he hadn't thought of her, but _still._ This was a big deal for Troy.

The fact that his beloved wasn't involved in his thought process bothered Troy. He mentally kicked himself.

_How could I have forgotten about her? She's my everything, how could I have fucking __forgotten?_

Troy realized that this was all a result of his lack of sleep. Had he been well rested, his thought process would have been normal – in other words, focused on his girlfriend. Mrs. Darbus cleared her throat, waiting. Troy stood up, "I'll go get her."

Mrs. Darbus sighed exasperatedly and nodded her permission. But she was too late. He had already left.

Troy walked through the halls, his vision blurred through his sleepiness. He tried to calm himself down as he made his way towards her locker.

_Calm down, Troy. It's just because you're so tired. If you had gotten enough sleep, you would never have forgotten about her. She's your everything, you know that._

He managed to stop beating himself up, stopping short when he approached her locker.

She was slumped on the floor, curled up on the cold tile, fast asleep.

The sight broke his heart all over again.

"Oh, sweetheart," his murmured as he knelt down next to her. The hatred he'd felt for himself before came back to the surface as he watched her angelic face, drained of color and energy as she slept. He didn't want to wake her up. He wanted to carry her home, curl up in his warm bed and fall asleep with her in his arms.

He stroked her face with the back of his hand gently. "Gabby, sweetie, wake up…," he murmured, wishing he could let her sleep longer. She deserved it.

Slowly, her eyes peeled up and blinked, readjusting to the harshly bright lights in the hallways. "Troy," she murmured in recognition. He smiled softly. "Hey gorgeous…we gotta get to homeroom now."

Her pitiful frown crushed his already broken heart. "Do we have to?" she whimpered. He bit his lip and nodded. She sighed and with a deep breath, pushed herself up off of the cold marble floor. He gazed at her, admiring her strength. He offered his hand and she accepted his, leaning into his side as they slowly made their way back to hell.

"Oh, for heavens sakes, Mr. Bolton. _Wake up!"_

Troy startled awake, looking up to see Mr. Howards glaring at him, brandishing his ballpoint pen like a weapon. Troy didn't even bother mumbling 'sorry' this time. It was the third time.

"Mr. Bolton, do you realize the importance of this class? Clearly not, with the way you have been dozing off. Tell me, what is the language of this country?"

"English," Troy managed to say.

"And what use are you, as an American citizen, if you cannot master your own language?"

Troy nodded numbly.

Gabriella watched from her seat in the back of the room as Mr. Howards continued to lecture Troy, sympathy filling her for her boyfriend.

"Can you tell me what I said, about Shakespeare?"

Troy shook head, resisting the urge to roll his eyes. The teacher knew he couldn't. This was an over-used teacher tactic, used to humiliate the students in front of the class, and keep them on their toes. Several students snickered.

"Ah, well let's see if anyone else can. Someone who was actually paying attention. How about you, Ms. Montez?"

Gabriella looked up in confusion. "I didn't raised my hand, Mr. Howards…"

"But you were paying attention, yes?"

She nodded meekly. She didn't want to answer the question that Troy hadn't – in her eyes, it would be betrayal.

"What did I say, then?"

She took a deep breath. "I don't know."

Several students, including Troy, whipped around to stare at her. Those words had _never_ left her mouth, not in a classroom. If Gabriella didn't know the answer, she would figure it out. She was in the top five students, enrolled in all honors and AP classes. It was assumed that "I don't know" was simply not in her large vocabulary.

Even Mr. Howards was shocked, but he recovered quickly. "Fine then. Gabriella, Troy, I will see you both during lunch detention."

Gabriella's jaw dropped. She had never gotten a detention. Ever. True, this was simply a lunch detention, it wouldn't go on her permanent record, but _still._ It was a detention nonetheless.

She could've begged for him to re-evaluate her punishment. She could have told him the truth, that she _had_ listened to his Shakespeare speech – that in fact, she had taken carefully organized _notes_ on the speech, which were now hidden in her binder. But she didn't. She took the blow, standing strong for her lover.

The bell rang. "Class dismissed," Mr. Howards said curtly, retreating behind his desk. The students stood up silently, still shocked by what had just happened. Gabriella ignored the stares she received, gathering her things and hurrying out the door. She raced down the hall, as fast her tired legs could carry her, and collapsed at a table in the art room. Art was her and Troy's next class, and they had a table all to themselves in the back.

Less than a minute later, Troy stumbled into the room, dumping his notebook onto the table and sliding onto a stool next to her.

"Baby, what happened in there?" he asked, sliding an arm around her waist. She rest her head on his shoulder and shrugged numbly. Troy noticed a paper sticking out of her binder, and pulled it out, scanning over it. It was a carefully organized list of notes that Gabriella had created on the speech. Troy frowned. "Baby, you _did_ listen to his speech? You took notes!"

She nodded mutely.

"Then, why didn't you answer the question?"

She looked up at him.

Oh.

The answer hit him. She didn't want to betray him. She took the blow, accepted her first detention ever – for _him._

"Oh sweetheart…," he twisted on his stool so that he could wrap both arms around her and she melted into his strong embrace.

"I've never gotten a detention before," she whispered into his shirt.

He nodded, his chin rubbing against the top of her head. "I know," he murmured. But he didn't ask her to change her decision. He knew she didn't deserve the detention, but she had taken it for him, it was her choice. It was not his place to change that.

So he tightened his hold on her, kissing the top of her head, grateful that he had been blessed with such an amazing girlfriend.

He hoped the rest of the day would be better.

_**AUTHORS NOTE: READ!**_

**AGAIN, SORRY THIS WAS SO LATE! THINGS HAVE BEEN VERY HECTIC LATELY, I JUST GOT HOME FROM SLEEPAWAY CAMP A FEW DAYS AGO….I ALSO WANT TO ADDRESS THE ISSUE THAT I HAVEN'T GOTTEN MANY REVIEWS LATELY. PUH-LEASE GUYS! REVIEWS ARE THE ONLY FEEDBACK I GET! IT'S NOT THAT HARD TO TYPE IN A QUICK "GOOD JOB" IS IT? CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICSM IS WELCOME TOO. I HATE TO SOUND DEMANDING GUYS, BUT IF YOU COULD GIVE ME ATLEAST 10 REVIEWS BEFORE THE NEXT CHAPTER, THAT WOULD SERIOUSLY MEAN A LOT TO ME.**


	7. Rest

…**.well, this is awkward.  
Hey guys. Long time no see!...heh.  
.bye.**

Her eyelids.  
They.  
Were.  
Just.  
So.  
Heavy.

She was trying to stay awake, she really was. But with every passing minute, it was getting harder and harder to keep her eyes open. Her head was just so light, the lights were just so bright….it wouldn't hurt to close her eyes for a few moments would it? Gabriella let her shoulders relax, slowly letting her eyelids drop as her body swayed back and forth…..back and forth…back and…..

* * *

"Troy….I think you should go visit the nurse."

Troy looked up at his teacher, blinking rapidly against the harsh classroom lights. "Hmm?"

Mrs. Ardley sighed. "Troy, this is third time you've passed out this period. I think you need to go see the nurse. You're really not getting anything done here," she motioned to his unopened textbook. He nodded blankly, getting up and staggering out the classroom without another word. Trudging down the hallway, barely conscious, Troy let his sleep-deprived mind wander to Gabriella. He hoped she was coping better than him, although he knew that she probably wasn't. Letting his mind linger on his girlfriend, it suddenly hit him how much he wanted to be with her at that moment.

The thought of cuddling up to her warm body under the soft blankets on his bed threatened to overwhelm him. Looking around the cold, empty hallways, Troy suddenly felt hopelessly helpless. It was probably the exhaustion overtaking him, but he suddenly felt like crying with the knowledge that he was trapped in school, so very far from his big, warm bed.

"Troy."

Troy felt a pull at his heart as he looked up, searching for the owner of the voice which he loved so much.

Oh.

There she was, right in front of him.

He grinned as much as his tired jaw allowed, holding his arms out to her. She sighed in relief as she stepped into his welcoming embrace, burying her face in his neck and inhaling deeply. "Nurse?" she mumbled into his skin, the simple comfort of his embrace lulling her to sleep. He nodded against her hair, kissing the top of her head before taking her hand and leading her down the hall.

* * *

Ten minutes later, the two were heading towards their lockers, having been ordered by the nurse to go home and get some rest, since they were in "no state to do anything useful here."

After tossing their backpacks carelessly in the backseat of Troy's car, they clumsily settled themselves in their seats. "Mine or yours?" Troy garbled out.

"Mine," she responded with a yawn.

Nodding, Troy started the engine and they were off to Gabriella's house.

When they pulled into the long driveway, both teenagers breathed a sigh of relief.

_Home._

Troy took Gabriella's hand and they stumbled onto the front porch. Her heart was beating in anticipation of what she knew was coming in the next few minutes.

_Bed. Bed. Bed. Bed. Sleep. Sleep. Sleep. Sleep._

Troy searched his key ring for the key to Gabby's house – which he'd had for a few months now – and opened to door.

The two raced inside, as fast as their tired legs could carry them, both eager to dive into the comfort of a warm bed. Gabriella's parents were both at work, and the empty house echoed with a comforting silence.

They kicked off their shoes as they entered her room and peeled back the covers on her bed. Lying down, the two breathed a heavy sigh of contentment. Troy pulled Gabriella closer, wrapping his arms around her and she snuggled into his warm embrace.

This was their heaven.

Troy closed his eyes in pure bliss and allowed a tired, content smile to grace his lips. "Thank god," he murmured into her soft hair, feeling every aching bone in his body relax against the mattress. She placed a tiny kiss to the warm skin of his neck before closing her eyes and drifting off.

* * *

Two hours later, Troy awoke in the same position he fell asleep in. Gabriella was still curled up in his arms, and his heart surged with warmth and love as he watched her sleep.

He loved this girl so much.  
He wanted her for the rest of his life.  
And he would have her forever, he was certain of it.

They had talked about once or twice before – their marriage.  
It was inevitable.

Because there was no possible way this love between them could ever vanish or weaken, Troy knew it. He had never felt anything so powerful in his entire life.

Both knew how rare this was, to find their soul mate in high school.  
Both knew how precious it was.

The fact that Gabriella would always be his, and he would always be hers, gave Troy immense comfort.

Whatever happened, whatever changed, she would always be there.  
She always had been.

He hadn't told anyone but Gabriella, since he was aware of the teasing that would ensue, but he looked forward to their wedding.

Of course, he wasn't as excited as Gabby, since he didn't particularly care about the color scheme or flower arrangements.

Gabriella stirred in his arms, breaking him out of his musings.

He looked down into her eyes and noticed that they had finally regained their brilliant sparkle. He smiled and bent his head to press his lips chastely against hers, little sparks running through his veins at the contact. "Hey," he murmured.

She smiled softly, raising a hand to cup his cheek. "Hey."

"So I've been thinking," he started, "it's been a while since we went out on a proper date."

She grinned that girly, excited grin he had expected and he continued, "Think you can schedule me in for a little bit this weekend?"

She shrugged nonchalantly, though she could barely contain her explosive beam, "I'll see what I can do."

She couldn't recall the last time she had felt so content (though, she thought to herself, it probably involved Troy). She was still slightly lethargic after their two-hour doze, her body felt sluggish and content, and she was so cozy surrounded by the blankets and Troy's warm body that she was considering staying in bed for the next, oh, two years or so.

* * *

What the fuck.

They had left school.  
Together.  
'Sick.'

Ashley was really getting sick of this.

Of pretending to be happy for the sickly happy couple, when she really just wanted Troy.  
Of pretending to be Gabriella's friend when she really just wanted to snap the unworthy bitch's neck.  
Of pretending she was okay without the pure perfection that fucking Gabriella seemed to possess.

She was done. She deserved Troy. She deserved to see Gabriella fall.

And she was done pretending. She was going to tear down the walls of perfection that surrounded the perfect little couple.

She was going for Troy.


End file.
